Friday, September 2, 2016

Just because...

"Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims." - 1 Corinthians 6:12 MSG

In essence, just because I can, doesn't mean I should, because I might get used to doing it and become convinced that it's the right thing to do, simply because it's become a habit.

Examine some of the things you're doing in the light of the Word. Is it really the right thing, or is it because of custom or habit, or because "they" told you to? Often, even our mentors give us bad advice, not because it came from a bad place, but because it's not the right thing for you. It may have worked for them during a crisis, but it should not have become a repeated "go-to" solution.

Examine your own solutions and make sure they are what you're supposed to do, not because it's what you thought you were supposed to do. We all make mistakes. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. The key is learning from those errors and veering back onto the straight and narrow.

Being mindful of what we're doing at all times can be exhausting, but we are not told to do that either. We're told to "keep our minds stayed on Him (Jesus), and He will keep us in perfect peace." We're told to "cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us." We're told to "trust in the Lord with all our heart, leaning not to our own understanding. But in all our ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct our path."

This walk could be a lot easier if we stop letting the enemy crowd our minds with legalistic conundrums and wasteful doubts. Trusting God takes time and practice if we're not used to it, but the benefits are so worth it. However, a child trusts implicitly, and we're told to be like little children. So maybe, some of these "myths" of what adulthood should be came out of someone else's misguided notion from a habitually wrong practice? Hmmmm, something to keep in mind when considering whether what you're about to do is really right, or just right for now...